In this Synology Setup Guide today we will teach you the right method to setup your NAS via “Find.Synology.Com” or via “Synology Assistant“. All you have to do is follow this step by step guide. We will teach your everything related to your NAS starting from scratch. Things like how to install hard drives, how to setup NAS, how to create pool and volume, how to copy files to NAS, how to backup synology NAS, and most importantly, how to secure/save your NAS from hackers? So, lets begin:-
First Step: Installing The Hard Drives To NAS
- In most of the Nas you won’t need any tools to pop-out the trays. You will just have to flip the tray from bottom end to open it and pull out the trays
- It is worth noting that these trays are equipped to mount both 3.5 inch and 2.5 inch Hard Drives. In which 3.5 inch is bit easier to mount in.
- Once the Tray is out, you will need to take out the plastic coverings from both sides of the tray in order to install the drives. Take help of the image below to understand how to do it.
- Now, put the drive into the plastic tray. Make sure it fits properly. Also the connector side of the drive should be towards the inside face of the tray and now towards the outside face. Also make sure all the holes on the drive match up everywhere on the tray. Once drive is in place put the plastic covering back that you removed earlier from the sides.
- Now your Hard drive is secured and ready to be mounted into your NAS. So, slide the drive in and put the clip down to lock the NAS in place.
- In the similar manner you can install your other Hard drives too, it is that simple.
Connecting NAS to Router and Power
Our second step involves us to connect the NAS with ethernet cable to the router. So, make sure your NAS and router sits on the same table while you are trying this setup. Now, connect an ethernet cable from your router’s LAN port to any port available on the back side of the Synology NAS.
We assume you already have working internet on the router and your router is working fine. Next, connect the power adapter to your NAS and push the power button on it. It is very likely possible that your unit will make fan noises and hmm sounds while turning on but that’s totally normal.
Next light will start blinking on the NAS, and the fan will start spinning and for around a minute the system will run its checks. Also you will hear one final beep from the unit which confirms it is has booted perfectly.
Now, we can start the setup of the unit. Lets first learn with the browser method.
Synology NAS Setup Via Find.Synology.Com
Now make sure you have working router in your home/office. Your NAS is connected with ethernet cable to the router. Both router and NAS are plugged in to the wall and working fine. If yes, then we will need one laptop/computer next. So make sure your laptop/computer is connected with your router’s internet either via ethernet or wirelessly.
Now open a browser on your laptop and in the URL of address bar type “Find.Synology.Com” and hit enter. If that doesn’t work then try “synologynas:5000 or (synologynas.local:5000 for Mac computers)” and hit enter.
This will bring its setup page for you, if it doesn’t. Then follow the article here on what to do when find.synology.com isn’t working? Nevertheless, on the setup page it shows you your unit’ model number, IP address, and its status which says not installed. So, simply click on connect.
In the next step it asks you to agree to the “terms and agreements”. Click Continue there. Next, you will need to click on “Install” the DSM (Disk Manager) which is the operating system of this unit.
Before clicking install kindly note that if you have any data on your hard drives then it will be all erased. So, if you want to copy that data, stop right here, and first copy that data and then install the DSM.
Once you click on Install your DSM Installation process will start. It will take somewhere around 10 mins to complete the Installation.
After, its done it will give you a pop up window welcoming you to DSM with an option to click “start”. Tap that.
Type Device name, Administrator Account Name, Password and Hit Next. On the next slide we recommend you to opt for automatic update option.
In the next window, make sure you create Synology account for extra benefits.
Synology Quick Connect
You will get an option to create Synology quick connect. Now it is really important for you to understand how it work. So, in short you will be able to login into your NAS from anywhere in the world using this Quickconnect ID. Now, it has its own pro’s and con’s that we have discussed in another article in detail, you should definitely check that for your security. Nevertheless, you can click skip or next as per your choice.
Next window bring you set of free tools which are really useful for any NAS user. We highly recommend you to enable both “Synology Active Insight” and “DSM Configuration Backup”. Moreover, both the tools are available free of cost. As you click next you will be now logged into the dashboard or main interface of your Disk Manager. So, if in future you want to make any changes on your NAS then from here you will be able to do it all. First thing that it will prompt you to do is to create your storage pool and volume.
Creating Storage Pool and Volume
So, you can create “Storage Pool” by clicking on the create now prompt. Else, you can do that through ‘storage manager’ option in the menu. As you click on “Start” it will ask you to select your ‘RAID TYPE’. It is really important for you to understand what RAID type suits your needs the best. So, read this article here in which we have explained all different types of Synology RAIDS and their pros and cons.
We recommend you to select SHR or Raid5 if you have six disk or less. If you have more than six disk you should go for SHR2 or Raid6. This gives you the ability of lose any disk while you NAS will never shut down. This is called Redundancy. So, Click Next.
You simply just need to select your drives in the next step.
In the next window it will ask you to perform “drive check”. Now I highly recommend you to perform this as this will check if there are any chances of your drive crashing in the coming days. So, this check will save you and your data.
Next window allow you to allocate volume. For basic setup you can use allocate max volume. Next you will have to select a file system. We recommend you to choose Btrfs. Click Apply to complete the storage creation. At the same time the unit will run its drive check which may take somewhere between 24-48 hours. But it doesn’t hamper your work you can still use the NAS.
IMPORTANT: Schedule Data Scrubbing
Now after volume setup next important thing we can do with our NAS is to set “Data Scrubbing”. This is helpful in case if any of the data is corrupt then the NAS will be able to re create that data itself. For any basic user, you can schedule the data scrubbing period for 3 months. And that too you can select the night time for scrubbing as it can hamper the performance during day time.
Don’t Forget To Setup Smart Tests
Another important thing first time Synology NAS user should setup is smart tests. For that go to storage manager>>HDD/SDD>>settings>>Test Schedular>>Create.
There we recommend you to create one quick smart test that you can schedule for once every month. Next, schedule extended test for every 6 month which tests which drives can possibly fail in the near future. So, it is an extra layer for security which protects your data. Once you know before hand you can copy the data somewhere else. Or you can also change the drives.
Create Shared Folder
Firstly go to control panel>>shared folder>>create>>create a new shared folder.
Next name it, you can enable recycle bin. On the next window, “enable additional security measure” you can click on skip this option. You can enable checksum for advanced data integrity. It will make your system bit slower but it is awesome feature to protect your data.
Next window gives an option to choose who has access to it which permissions. You can gives permission to local users or just group all at once. Depending upon which OS you are using you will able to find this folder in Mac os finder and windows file explorer too.
So, this is how you can setup synology nas with browser setup method. In case for any reason find.synology.com isn’t working for you, then read the article here on how to fix it.